Shift Happens: Turning Career Change into a Power Move
You know what’s wild? The fact that you could literally make one decision and alter the entire fabric of your existence! Who knows what my life would’ve turned out to be had I not visited Melrose Ave. on a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles in October 2017. I was literally one Uber ride away from shifting the trajectory of my entire life.
Two months prior to that, my boyfriend (now fiancé) found a job in LA and relocated to the west coast from DC. I wasn’t convinced that LA was for me. At the time, I was a city girl. I wanted to move to New York and live like Samantha Jones - but in a long distance relationship. Well, I went to visit my boyfriend that October and spent one of my days alone exploring LA as he worked. I took an Uber to Melrose Ave. and felt so much possibility and creativity in the air. I wanted to be there! I remember thinking to myself “If I lived here, I could come here everyday!” When I returned to DC, I applied to 18 jobs and only got an interview for one. A month later, I was living in LA, with a new job, in my own apartment, and $3000 to my name. That’s how much I fell in love with Melrose. Fast forward 6 years later and I still feel that way whenever we drive down that street.
So what does that have to do with my career? Well, if it wasn’t for falling in love with Melrose, I likely would’ve never applied for jobs in LA and moved to Southern California in 2018. And had I not moved to Southern California, I likely would’ve never been exposed to the opportunities that fell upon me as I navigated the tech industry on the west coast. Would I be celebrating my 5th year at Microsoft later this month? Probably not!
One small decision has the power to have such a significant impact on how our lives evolve. And in my case, how my career evolved.
In fact, last month I made the decision to leave management altogether and transition back to an individual contributor role. But I know, my precious “manager” title! Some of those who know me expressed “April, you worked so hard to make it into the leadership team! You’re such a great manager! Wait, are you taking a pay cut? Are you done growing at Microsoft? Oh wait, are you leaving Microsoft?”
Well, the answer to those questions are: No, nope, and nah. I did what was best for where I’m at in my life.
When I came to Microsoft, I was a bright-eyed self-taught Python developer ready to take on the world. Except, I joined as a Sr. Program Manager because I knew that my initial position could serve as the stepping stone to the sort of role I wanted. A year later, I transitioned into Cloud Advocacy and grew each year by way of a promotion in either level or role:
2020 Promotion to Level 64
2021 Promotion to Team Lead
2022 Promotion to Level 65
2023 Promotion to Leadership Team (our org’s LT)
I’m a unicorn. And having come to that realization, I spent a lot of time mentoring others at work and helping to establish initiatives to give others who identify like myself to have a similar experience in the workplace. A lot of workplace D&I conversations across our chain of command. A lot of hours spent advocating on behalf of those who were dealt a pretty unfortunate hand of career cards.
When I became a people manager, this all got amplified by 10x. And although it’s a lot of “feel good” work, I’ve lost some of myself in the process. I began to lose the joy I once felt walking into my home office. I missed “doing the work”. And by “doing the work”, I mean actually coding. Being able to spend the day selfishly focusing on myself and my own professional growth felt like a fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy helping others, however, I helped so much that I left nothing in my cup for myself.
So, I decided to pivot.
I knew that the only way that I could reconcile my feelings towards work was to focus on creating a new path for myself. I needed a new challenge. Something that I could give my all towards without having the weight of everyone else’s challenges keeping me comfy at night as I tried to sleep.
Having been in my new role now for about a month, I can honestly say that this was one of the best decisions that I could’ve ever made for myself. I’m a Principal Cloud Advocate as an IC on our AI team. I’m not a “job title crazy” person. Rather, I care more about scope and visibility. And in my new scope, I’m actually receiving more visibility than I had when I was in the LT. Even my scope is aligned with the sort of work that I want to do everyday.
What I gained during my time in management is knowledge. I learned the ins and outs of how our company operates. And I don’t mean “how we create software or Azure”. I’m referring to how we operate across business growth, operational growth, and professional growth. This is all key knowledge that not many are ever exposed to unless given the opportunity to be in certain rooms and engaged in certain conversations. I have a better idea now of how some decisions are made, why particular decisions are made, and how to communicate what I need from others.
Oh, to have had the opportunity to gain this level of exposure and knowledge is a gift that I’ll never take for granted. And with this knowledge, I know how to better navigate big-Tech. I’m also better equipped to help others navigate their careers, too. It’s a win-win all around!
Maybe you’re considering a career shift that’s not as drastic as mine? Or maybe yours is even larger than mine? Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, I encourage you to take some time to marinate on defining what it is that you truly want to gain from it. I’ve found it more challenging to make a decision without an end goal in mind. It took me months and several therapy sessions to figure out what I wanted next for myself. And I didn’t feel comfortable moving in any direction until I had an answer.
Be careful though, consider whether your end goal is coming from a place of “self” or a place of “influence”. What do I mean by that? Well, are you choosing an end goal because it’s something that YOU want? Or are you choosing your end goal because it’s something SOMEONE ELSE wants? It’s almost like the movie Inception - having someone else plant the idea in your head but for their own personal gain. Challenge yourself and ask “Why is this goal so important for me?”. And if the answer has anything to do with someone else, well, then reconsider your end goal.
Whatever you do, make a shift that’ll be to your advantage. That is where true power lies.
I don’t know what the future holds for me and my career. A tiny decision such as going to Melrose Ave. has led to you finding me today. A big decision such as choosing to take a shift in my career has led to a world of possibilities.
And I love that for me.
